July 22, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 22, 2011

As expected, yesterday was the definition of brutality, weather-wise. I hope everyone stayed safe and cool – we came up with some creative ways to move the A/C from the shop into the office, which helped immensely, and having a pool never stinks either!

Those out on the water were doing the “Deposit Dance” as I call it – get in the water, freeze, get out to get warm, start losing 5lbs / minute in sweat, get back in the water and freeze, repeat process. Those that did were rewarded with some decent mid-day and afternoon fishing, however! We are still seeing dortheas and mid-size BWOs (latas, mostly), and the fish are starting to key in on psuedos when they are around, so bust out the 6X tippet. We also are still seeing a plethora of various stenonema species, in sizes 16 through 12, and the fish will pick those guys off on occasion. The fog has hampered the trico activity, but I suspect that once it burns off (almost gone now, for example) we should start to see those little guys bouncing as well!

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

July 21, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 21, 2011

Well, 8AM and we’re already near 80 degrees here on the river – it’s going to be a scorcher out there. The 600 CFS release is still going stron, which is the only  reason you don’t see us panicking. About the trout / bugs / river, at least. I am more worried about becoming welded to my chair in the office right now.We still had a good showing of bugs yesterday whenever the sun went behind the clouds, and sometimes when it didn’t – sulphurs, olives, a late (1PM) Trico hatch, and caddis in the morning made for an interesting day – let’s see how it reacts to the mid-90 temperatures coming our way. The only possible ‘serious’ negative impact will be fog on the river if the humidity gets as high as predicted.

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

July 20, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 20,2011

Strong sulphurs on the upper West Branch followed by small olives.  Lots of fish eating just under the surface.  We are seeing a few tricos on the West Branch mid- morning, mixed with brown caddis.

West Branch Tricos Photo by Jeff White

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

July 19, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 19, 2011

Mostly cloudy skies yesterday yielded some pretty good temperatures, however the sporadic thunderstorms managed to increase the humidity, ‘fogging out’ most of the river. The good news is that today is supposed to be mostly cloudy, and virtually all the AM fog has already burned off – this could be a great one out there!

Lamprey Larva - fish will key on on these this time of year

Isonychia bicolor – Iso/Slate Drake #12-2XL

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

July 18, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 18, 2011

I thought Texas was hot….sheesh. But it was a ‘dry heat,’ right? Anyway, lots of sun and humidity yesterday, but it didn’t stop the fish up in Deposit from rising to small deficiens (#16) in the morning, VERY steadily. We had some fog this morning, so I would anticipate that timing would be pushed a little later in the day. We are also expecting some serious thunderstorms during the day and into the evening, which as usual will either turn everything on, or shut it right down. Gotta love those pressure changes!

Photo: Imagine something nice here. The uploader is giving me fits this morning.

Isonychia bicolor – Iso/Slate Drake #12-2XL

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

July 17, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 17, 2011

It looks like summer has finally struck here in Starlight – the East Branch is low and warm, doing the same to the Main Stem – it will be fishable in the evenings, but I would avoid it during the heat of the day. The steady 600 CFS release down the West Branch is doing well to keep the upper-upper main cool, as well as itself. With the bright sun, we are back to  morning / evening dry fly  – type scenario, but still will plenty of bugs popping before and after the sun hits the water!

Isonychia bicolor – Iso/Slate Drake #12-2XL

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

July 16, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 16, 2011

Happy Saturday to those who have a traditional “weekend!” Starting off with bright sun and no fog this morning, so the temps should climb early, yielding good insect activity EARLY down low, and earlier in the afternoon up high (close to the dam). Bugs and methods are the same today, the only big change of note is that the release from Pepacton Reservoir (East Branch) has been cut, and the Beaverkill has also dropped below 300 cfs – this means much warmer temps on the East system (i.e. more typical summertime conditions), and that the lower Main will start to heat up  a bit as well – great news for all you smallmouth fishermen out there!

Isonychia bicolor – Iso/Slate Drake #12-2XL

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

July 14, 2011

Delaware River Update and Conditions 7/14/2011

Lots of bugs on the water last night after a day of mixed clouds and sun.  The weather has cooled down a bit making it more comfortable on the water.  Keep an eye out for risers on shade banks and riffles.  Looks like bright sunshine today, but fishing should turn on towards evening.

Isonychia bicolor – Iso/Slate Drake #12-2XL

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

July 13, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 13, 2011

Clouds! At least that is what the forecast is calling for, which should make for some excellent mid-day fishing here system-wide. We had reports of golden drakes (potomanthus distinctus) on the East Branch last night, which has been maintaing a low temp due to the increased flows from Pepacton. On the West it was bug soup last night – Stenos, pseudos, dortheas, deficiens, and on, and on – made for a tough night trying to figure out what the fish were eating – Delaware fun at its finest!

A White Fly (Ephoron leukon) shuck - they change from dun to spinner almost immediately after hatching - sometimes in mid-air! Photo by: Jeff White

Isonychia bicolor – Iso/Slate Drake #12-2XL

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

July 12, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 12, 2011

Just hit the copy button – we’re looking for an exact repeat of  yesterday, both in conditions and weather – hot and sticky! It makes that 45-degree water up in Deposit seem down right refreshing! We expect the same from the bugs as well – morning caddis and evening dortheas, stenos and isos. The fog has been staying off the lower river, so we’ve been able to fish all the way up until dark!

Isonychia bicolor – Iso/Slate Drake #12-2XL

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

July 11, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 11, 2011

Down we go – looks like we are down to our 600 CFS release from Cannonsville – the river is stable, as the flow was gradually decreased, there should be no real “shock” to the system – the good news is that the infamous ‘green crap’ has been mitagted, as the big flush of water kicked the majority of it downstream – now you can fish your sulphurs and they won’t turn into BWO’s! Give us a call at the shop for the most up-to-the-minute info.

PS – We still have a few Sage Z-Axis 5 and 7-weight rods for sale – 35% off and free shipping!

Sage Z-Axis Rod. Photo by: Matt Jones

Isonychia bicolor – Iso/Slate Drake #12-2XL

Ephemerella dorothea – Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. – Tan Caddis – #16-#18

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill – #12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom – Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26

July 10, 2011

Delaware River Report / Conditions July 10,2011

The release has gone down to 712 cfs and continues to slowly get back to the 500 cfs set flow. The bright sun and warmer temperatures we faced yesterday made the fishing tough, but with forecast of thunderstorms in the near future we should see the fish become more active. The decrease in flow has enabled the wade fisherman to access most spots on the West Branch, while the Main Stem and East Branch still remain a little to high.

Isonychia bicolor –Iso/Slate Drake #12-2XL

Ephemerella dorothea –Sulphur- #16/18/20

Stenonema sp. – Light Cahill #12-#14

Ephemerella deficiens- Blue Wing Olive #14

Hydropsyche sp. –Tan Caddis –#16-#18

Emphemerella invaria – Light Cahill –#12

Brachycentrus sp. (Dark Grannom –Charcoal) #16- #18

Pseudocloeon – Little BWO’s- #22-#26